[Link] New study: "Assisting Decision-Making on Age of Neutering for 35 Breeds of Dogs"

[buzzy204]

@oklahoma40404 Hey, do you know why spaying/ neutering this early is done? (Or recommended?)

I live in a country where it's only allowed for medical reasons and is usually performed after puberty (12+ months, depending on breed).

Really wondering about the differences.

 

[oklahoma40404]

@buzzy204 I’m in the US and was told that she would have bone problems, joint problems and cancer problems if we waited until after she went through puberty. Basically exactly the opposite of this article. This was 5 years ago, though so maybe the info has changed since then.

 

[buzzy204]

@oklahoma40404 Thanks for the answer. Maybe it's a bit of a cultural thing, too. Natural things are regarded very positively over here and by extension letting a dogs development run their natural course would be consistent.

 

[buzzy204]

@etenczal There are also studies that investigate behavior changes due to spaying and neutering. For the 2nd one I only found a summary which gives a concise overview of the methods and results. The 1st one is a bit of a read. Here you go:

• McGreevy PD, Wilson B, Starling MJ, Serpell JA (2018) Behavioural risks in male dogs with minimal lifetime exposure to gonadal hormones may complicate population-control benefits of desexing. Study
• Deborah L. Duffy and James A. Serpell (2006, November). Non-reproductive effects of spaying and neutering on behavior in dogs Summary (Presentation)

 

[tippymoondawg]

@etenczal Wow, this is really very interesting. I don't have time to read the article but does it give any thoughts on why male Dobermans should be left intact?

 

[conaeolos]

@etenczal Wow. Thank you, this is incredibly informative and useful.

 

[ravin]

@etenczal This is great information. People gave me a bit of a hard time for waiting so long so neuter my rottweiler, but the vet was pretty solid in 9-12mo, but closer to 12. Due to the Big Rona, we ended up waiting until 13mo, and this makes me happy that we did.

 

[katew]

@etenczal Awesome!!!! Very good info. I have a beagle and went back and forth for awhile about whether/when to get her spayed. I ended up deciding to let her go through 1 heat and get her spayed after that before her second. Glad to know that no matter what I'm making a healthy choice for her.

 

[rotlex]

@etenczal This is great! Thank you! I’m going to share to the Great Dane community.